What the election means for FERC’s transmission rules

GRID: Experts weigh in on how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s newly adopted transmission rules might take shape under a Harris or Trump presidency, and how permitting legislation or a Supreme Court ruling could affect them. (E&E News)

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POLITICS:

• Climate groups launch a $55 million ad buy to boost Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy, highlighting her clean energy promises and prosecutorial record against oil companies. (The Hill)
• Georgia has received outsized benefits and investment under the federal climate package, but those gains could be undone if Donald Trump wins reelection. (Canary Media)
• Climate activists say vice presidential nominee Tim Walz has a complicated climate change record while serving as Minnesota’s governor, by both signing progressive clean energy legislation but also allowing a pipeline expansion. (Salon)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Experts say electric vehicle charger congestion poses the next challenge for deployment, as developers need to consider bursts of holiday and event travel once they’ve satisfied everyday charger needs. (Bloomberg)
• Former President Trump says he’d consider ending the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit and may nominate Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a role in his administration if he wins the election. (Reuters)

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WIND: Federal ocean energy regulators give the country’s first floating offshore wind research lease to Maine for a project of up to 12 turbines near Portland; the state first sought the lease in 2021. (Associated Press)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• Analysts predict a second Trump administration would imperil dozens of pending solar, wind and geothermal projects on federal land in the West. (E&E News)
• Democratic lawmakers are divided over a bipartisan permitting reform bill that could speed both clean energy and fossil fuel deployment. (The Hill)
• The Inflation Reduction Act is having a transformative effect on U.S. manufacturing growth, particularly in the clean energy sector, though some investors are concerned that the outcome of the presidential election could weaken the 2-year-old law. (CNBC)

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CARBON CAPTURE: Oil companies are pinning their decarbonization hopes on carbon capture projects to reduce their emissions, but rising construction costs and the lagging pace of related infrastructure development are cutting into the value of  federal tax credits for the technology. (Houston Chronicle)

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OIL & GAS: Aggressive sales tactics and “compulsion” laws means many Ohio landowners with fracking wells on their properties were forced to accept them, according to a new study. (The Hill)

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SOLAR: A solar company’s partnership with a Minnesota agriculture nonprofit helps emerging farmers from around the world grow crops alongside community solar projects. (Sahan Journal)

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